


A Run In The Park

by artbyweb86



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Ableism, Buck has another bad day, Buck needs to live in a bubble, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Injured Evan "Buck" Buckley, Mental Health Issues, Worried Firefam, poor buck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24762754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artbyweb86/pseuds/artbyweb86
Summary: Buck goes for a run in the park on his day off. What could go wrong there?
Comments: 11
Kudos: 189
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	A Run In The Park

It was his day off and he decided he would get up early and go for a run at the park. 

Buck searched for his headphones and the holder for his cell phone, which he straps to his arm, so he can listen to music while running. After a few minutes he couldn’t find it, until he remembered his bag that he brings to work, with a change of clothes and water bottle, and extra things he might need for the work day. He almost left it behind, but after checking the weather, it was supposed to get hot. Can’t hurt to have an extra shirt on hand. He filled the water bottle and then grabbed the bag and tossed it into the trunk of his car.

He usually liked the running trails in the mountains, but decided the park near his apartment would be a better option. More shade and he didn’t like to wear sunscreen when he is sweating like crazy. He would risk the sunburn.

The drive to the park was only a few minutes and he found a good parking spot under a tree. 

He got out and started doing some stretches. Glancing around he noticed it was pretty empty, save for the dedicated runners and walkers, who seemed to be able to exercise in any type of weather condition. 

Setting up his music, he was ready to go. 

He could already tell he wasn’t going to be able to run as long as he usually could. The humidity was already starting to rise. No wind either. 

He only got in a few laps before he had to slow his pace and then settled for walking a few more laps before he had to give up. 

Wiping the sweat off his face, he found an empty bench and sat down with a sigh.

He noticed a young woman sit down on the bench across from him. He had an odd feeling about her, as she was wearing an oversized hoodie that seemed to swallow her petite frame. She might have been wearing shorts, but he didn’t want to stare, and she was barefoot.

She was kind of looking at him, so he gave a polite smile and then turned back to this phone to change his music and check for any messages.

While he was texting Eddie, who was working, but on a break at the moment it seemed, the woman got up and sat on the bench next to him. 

It didn’t bother him, as the bench was long enough for several people and she was on the opposite end. 

What bothered him, was that he could feel her staring at him.

He turned to her, and politely asked, “Can I help you, miss?”

She stared at him for a second, kinda jerked her head, laughed and then turned away from him.

He shrugged and continued scrolling through his phone.

The girl was getting a little more agitated. Talking to herself and getting a little fidgety.

After a minute of listening to her babble nonsense, he got up and started moving towards his car, which was thankfully not too far away. The heat was starting to get to him anyway. An excuse to get away from her and into air-conditioning.

Still feeling the unsettling presence of the girl, he took out his phone as if to take a selfie and lifted his camera up high enough to see that indeed she was following him. She was only a short distance from him, but she had her head down and her hands were folded into her hoodie.

He quickened his pace a little and took out his keys, so he could make a quick escape into the car if she tried anything funny.

He opened the car door, hopped into his seat, and was about to close the door when he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. Trying to make sense of what just happened, he shoved his injured hand to try and remove the attacking source, slammed his door shut and locked it.

Looking down at his arm, it showed a small slice just above the wrist on the back on his hand. He looked back up to see her staring and smiling. She was definitely high on something. Her pupils were pinpoints, even in the shade. And now she was circling his car waving a knife in her hand.

He knew he needed to call police, but he needed to stop the bleeding first. The cut wasn’t too deep, but might need some stitches. Being on blood thinners, he knew the drill. The blood was flowing, already staining his pants and seat.

He sighed. Another injury while off duty. He really needed to rethink about going outside.

Crawling into the backseat, he reached for his bag and pulled out his shirt, tearing it into strips and wrapping it around his wound tightly. He dug around more and found wraps that were used for boxing. Eddie had given him a pair so they could spar sometimes in the gym during breaks. He wrapped that around his wrist, which helped with restricting his movement. Testing it, he could see that it seemed to be working. 

Looking for his phone and keys, he found them both on the floor on the driver side. He grabbed both, deciding to start the car to see if that would scare her off. He needed the AC on anyway to cool off as it was getting stuffy. 

Starting the car did not scare her off, but seemed to fuel her anxiety. She was circling the car, but now using her knife to scrape the sides.

Cringing at the sound the knife was making he dialed 911. People nearby were starting to gather and watching with confusion.

“Hello, 911, what’s your emergency?”

“Hi, I am in need of police and rescue. I am an off duty firefighter. Evan Buckley. I am currently at Tatum Park. Parking lot. I am in a dark grey Jeep. I went for a run and about to go to my car when a young girl started following me. Wearing a large blue hoodie. She has a knife and stabbed my arm before I got into my car. It’s not deep, I was able to get it under control. She is now circling my car, scraping the sides with her knife. She may be high on something. Her eyes are pin pricks and not acting normal.”

“Buck?” It sounded a lot like Josh on the other end.

“Oh, hi Josh. Is Maddie in today? You don’t need to let her know just yet. I am fine, locked in my car. I am safe.”

“Ok, I have rescue on the way. Can you tell me where she is now?” He skillfully avoided the Maddie question. Hopefully she wasn’t in ear shot. Knowing her, she might try and come down there and do something herself.

He looked around and couldn’t see her. Maybe she left, but from the shocked look on some of the onlookers, he could tell she was still in the vicinity. Then he heard a slight whooshing of air. 

She had just stabbed a tire! He could feel it deflating quickly. She popped up into view, waving her knife, mumbling, and scraping the side of his car again, until she got to the next tire. She stabbed it several times, until the sound of air was escaping. 

“She is proceeding to slash all my tires. She keeps circling the car, scraping my car and then goes for the tire. She has one more to go.”

“Oh my gosh! Umm..looks like they are only a few minutes away.”

“Yeah, I think I hear the sirens.” He gasped.

“Buck, what’s going on now?”

He watched as she then tried to climb onto his car hood. Being she was so short, she had to try several times, using a now deflated tire as leverage. She tried kicking his windshield, but ended up falling on her butt. She then sat, facing him, tapping the glass.

“She climbed onto the hood of my car and is just sitting there. She tried to kick my windshield, but didn’t succeed.”

Just then the cops arrived and assessed the situation. One officer went to do crowd control, as well as ask questions. The other walked up the girl and tried to talk to her.

“The calvary is here. Thanks Josh!”

“Alright. Hope your arm is ok. Sorry you are having such a crappy day.”

“Ha, ain’t that the truth! Thanks.”

He hung up and watched as the officer was still trying to talk to the girl. but she made no acknowledgment that she even knew someone was there. She just kept staring at him.

The ambulance pulled up as well. Cutting off their sirens.

The paramedics jumped out and started talking to the officer on crowd control. He nodded and talked into his radio, alerting the other officer, who then waved the paramedics to come close. It seemed like they knew this girl, as they talked to her, on the side that had no knife. She must have had issues before and they seemed to be able to calm her down. Or she was just coming down from a high.

The other officer snuck up to the other side, and when she was turned enough, he grabbed her hand to secure the knife, and tossed it aside, before grabbing her, cuffing her and leading her away for the paramedics to assess. She didn’t even put up a fight.

Turning off the car, he then hopped out of the car just as he heard clapping. The crowd applauding the whole scenario. He just hoped that the people who were recording, didn’t post it. He didn’t need that kind of exposure right now. 

Shaking his head, he made his way over to the officers and paramedics. 

Across the street, oblivious to Buck’s situation, the 118 had been called to a possible gas leak. They had been able to successfully pinpoint the leak and shut off the gas and checked the building for anyone who might have been affected. Finding none, they started to pack up.

Eddie was putting away the equipment, when he decided a quick glance of the park. He did a double take when he thought he saw a familiar car, now being lifted onto a tow truck. He followed the tow truck to a police car, and then to an ambulance. His heart skipped a beat. There was Buck, sitting on the edge, his arm being wrapped up by one of the paramedics.

“Buck?” Bobby glanced up, confused, first at Eddie, and then followed Eddie’s gaze. His mouth dropped open.

“Oh my god! What did he do now?”

Eddie checked traffic and then ran across the street, followed by the rest of the team.

“Buck!”

Buck glanced up in response to his name, looked confused for a second, and then a smile lit up his face.

“Eddie! What are you guys doing here? I told Josh I was fine. My arm won’t even need stitches.”

“We were at a call just down the street and we saw you in the ambulance. What happened to your arm?”

So he went on to tell the story. A collective wince when he got to the part where she had sliced his arm, and then destroyed his car. They all watched as the tow truck left with the car. 

“We really need to get you an impenetrable bubble for you when you are off duty and have to go outside.” Chimney joked.

“Seriously! You need to stop scaring us like this.” Hen added.

Bobby and Eddie nodded in agreement.

“We will give you a lift to the fire station, since you now have no transportation. You can get a cab or something after you get something to eat. A good home cooked meal from me.” Bobby said smiling.

“Can’t say no to that!”

They all laughed as they made their way to the truck.

A few days later, Buck was getting ready in the changing room when he opened his locker and noticed a small package.

He picked it up and read the small card that was attached.

_For your safety when off duty_  
_Love,_  
_Your 118 Family_

Brought the package up to the kitchen where everyone was eating breakfast.

“Uhh, guys what is this?”

“Open it up!” Chimney said, smiling like an idiot.

He opened it carefully, as if expecting something will pop out. Lifting the lid revealed a square plastic object with a button in the middle and a string attached.

“What is it?”

“A life alert pendant. You know, for when older people need it. They can track your movement if you fall, and you can press it and talk to the emergency people on the other end. This is for when you are off duty. Since you tend to need it more often than not.”

“Chim! It’s not working now is it?”

“No, you have to activate it first, go through a serious of steps. So it doesn’t work yet.”

“Oh my god!”

Just then the alarm went off. 

With the whole team chuckling, they made their way to the trucks. 

The life alert pendant abandoned on the kitchen table.

Maybe having one wasn't such a bad idea....


End file.
